More on the hip and less on the glitzy is what we are going to look at, as I run you through some of the lesser known, upcoming and über hotels around the globe!
Highlighting the finest of Omani hospitality is the Six Senses Hideaway Zighy Bay Hotel where your rooms aren’t just rooms, they are villas! Every single one of them comes with its swimming pool, a sensational wine-cellar and sweeping views of the Musandam Peninsula! Book and you’ll know what it is like to truly “live on the edge”!!
Next up is The Commune in the capital city of Beijing! Smack dab in the middle of a two-thousand acre (yes, you read that right) property, this hip hotel showcases the best of Asian talent in each of its 236 rooms, fearlessly designed yet tastefully built! Combining exotic materials such as feathers and bark, this “Rockstar” of hotels takes architecture and your senses to the heavens below! Unbelievable!
Desire something that is both upscale and downright monumental (literally!)? Head out to the Emerald Isle – Sri Lanka and book some quality time for you and your loved ones at Vil Uyana which features hip and spacious dwellings built right within the culturally extravagant environs of Sigirya! This eco-friendly and design-conscious hotel features all the contemporary luxuries to get yourself pampered from head to toe plus all amenities to dissolve yourself in the cultural ethos of Dambulla!
Fancy a glass of the finest Red?? Or maybe a rejuvenating session at a mineral spa? Why choose? Have a bit of both in surroundings so lush, so sublime, so mind-blowing, so atmospheric you’d call it profane! The Calistoga Ranch in Napa Valley is built in cedar and framed by fragrant pine and rarefied air!
The Racha in glorious Phuket features here for it is not just fantastic; it is out of this world!! Think Mykonos or Crete. Now add a splash of the Caribbean. Shake well with the unmistakable Thai hospitality – There you have it. Almost. For this gem of the Andamans has every possible luxury you can conjure up with your imagination unbound!
Pay your dutiful homage to the pioneer of HIP at L’Hotel in Paris and maybe you’ll be touched by the essence of individualism and intellect, a legacy left behind by the innumerable artists, filmmakers and writers. For us sheer mortals, the grande rooms, the spa at the Catacombs and the Michelin-star restaurant will suffice. c’est formidable!!
Drift away into the seething concoction of steamy spices and the soothing murmur of the crowds to arrive at the La Sultana at Marrakech, an authentic riad, where foie gras is commonplace and opulence is mundane! Antiques, art, carvings, high ceilings, you name it, this has it! You would also be right to expect Scheherazade ambling in the ornate doorways of this truly palatial hotel!